a) Field of the Disclosure
The goal of the disclosed buckle and belt assembly is to honor those individuals who have served, or are serving, in the military of their respective country. When these individuals are entering into military service, each individual, regardless of the branch of the military (e.g. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, etc.) they enlist into, has one thing in common and is issued a “dog tag”. This is one thing that clearly “identifies” each individual who currently is, or has in the past been, in the military. In a sense, this dog tag can represent a “life story” of the individual who has served in the military. This is accomplished in the embodiments of the present invention by incorporating and displaying the individual's dog tag in a belt buckle that can be worn by the individual who is seeking to honor that military individual.
Accordingly, in the following text there will be described the manner in which the buckle is structured and used in such a way as to safely display a dog tag representative of the military individual in a clear and safe manner.
b) Background Art
A “dog tag” in the context of this disclosure is the informal name for the identification tags worn by military personnel because of their resemblance to actual dog tags. The tag is primarily used for the identification of dead and wounded along with providing essential basic medical information for the treatment of the latter, such as blood type and history of inoculations. Dog tags are usually fabricated from a corrosion-resistant metal or alloy such as aluminum, monel or stainless-steel, although during war-time they have been made from whatever metals were available. In the event the member has a medical condition that requires special attention, an additional red tag with the pertinent information is issued and worn with the dog tag.
Wearing of the tag is required at all times by soldiers in the field. It may contain two copies of the information and be designed to break easily into two pieces. This allows half the tag to be collected for notification while the other half remains with the body when battle conditions do not allow the casualty to be immediately recovered. Alternatively, two identical tags are issued. One is worn on a long chain around the neck; the second on a much smaller chain attached to the first chain. In the event the wearer is killed, the second tag is collected and the first remains with the body. Alternatively, some units allow or require each member to wear one laced into their boot in lieu of the second around the neck.
Other countries, such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, use military “dog tags” of differing shapes and configurations for the same reasons as those mentioned above.